Air conditioning system for multiple unit dwellings



D. M. BROWN 3,169,382

ATR coNnTTToNTNG SYSTEM Foa MULTIPLE UNIT nwELLTNGs Feb. 16, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 2, 1965 RWNQ 0252@ www wml

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Feb. 16, 1965 D. M. BROWN AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM FOR MULTIPLE UNIT DWELLINGS Filed May 2, 1963 39962320. 920510202032010?? l. i,nu...................M...

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l l l n n n l n n l l l l l l I n l l l l 1 l l INVENTOR.' /oam zwnw@ United States Patent Oilice ldz Patented Feb. i6, 1965 3,i69,332 Alli CNDTING SYSTEM EGR MULIPLE UNIT DWE'LLENGS Daniel Ivi. Brown, Evanston, lli., assigner to Systems Engineering Corporation, Chicago, lll., a corporation of illinois Filed May 2, i963, Ser. No. 277,547 Z iCiairns. (Cl. o2 259) My invention relates to an individualized air conditioning system for multiple unit dwellings.

In the apartment buildings being constructed today, particularly those of the high rise or multi-unit type, mdividualized electric resistance radiant heating has been found highly desirable. it saves greatly on cost of construction. lt is inherently less expensive than a conventional circulating system, both in respect to the cost of components and the cost of installation. More-over, such an electrical heating system provides complete ilexibility for the tenant. The apartments are all independent of one another, and each room of the apartment may be maintained at a desired temperature independent of the other rooms.

Gne objection, however, to the replacement of the central heating system is that such central systems have also been used as cooling or air conditioning systems, and the individualiration of the heating plant therefore requires either a separate, central air conditioning system or the use of a multitude of window air conditioners.

The central air conditioning system is exceedingly expensive, requiring an elaborate and expensive plant, a heat exchanger of great capacity and a quantity of duct work. The window type air conditioners are noisy, expensive to operate, unsightly, and uncertain in operation with a short life and a need for frequent repair. Moreover, the efficiency is low, resulting in little cooling for the power consumed.

My invention has for a primary object the provision of an air conditioned, multiple unit dwelling structure wherein both the. very expensive central system and the nearly equally expensive and generally unsatisfactory window units are avoided. More narrowly my invention provides for an air conditioning system for a multiple unit dwelling such as an apartment building on an individual apartment basis wherein the great cost and maintenance problem of the central system to the building owner is minimized and at the same time, the various faults of the window type air conditioners are avoided. There are no unsightly objects in the windows. The noise of operation is no greater than that of a central system.

The system I contemplate accommodates a suflicient cubic volume of interior space so as to permit a relatively large, and t erefore etcient, heat exchange system and motor size.

Another object of my invention is to provide an emplaced air conditioning system having the following advantages. The condenser unit is situated outside the dwelling thereby avoiding noise, heat of operation, smells, etc. Inside l provide one or more evaporators connected to the condenser unit which is lin heat exchange relation with the air in the building or dwelling unit by a system or" concealed duct work so as to make the system wholly invisible, and yet provide for separate areas of circular air ow, whereby individually controlled cooling, even on a zone basis, can be obtained.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description and drawings of which:

FIG. l is a tloor plan of one iloor of a representative apartment building having two apartments or dwelling units in it;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along the line 2 2 of FIG. l, looking in the direction of the arrow and illustrating a portion of an apartment, certain wall or duct surfaces being broken away;

FIG. 3 is a section similar toFIG. 2 taken along the line 3 3 of FIG. l, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a section similar to FIG. 2 taken along the line 4 4- of FIG. l, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a section through one of .the condenser units taken along the line 5 5 of FIG. -1, looking in the direction of the arrows showing the parts thereof somewhat diagrammatically in elevation; and

FIG. 6 is a section similar to FIG. 5 through one of the evaporator units taken substantially along the line 6 6 of FIG. 4 showing the interior parts thereof in elevation.

For convenience of reference let it be assumed that the legend FIG. l on that figure represents the north side of the illustrated apartment building floor. With such orientation, the access means consisting of the elevator shaft 16 and the stairs l2 occupy the northeast corner. The remaining north side of the floor and the two west rooms on the south side indicated as bedroom #l and living room comprise one apartment. A second apartment occupies the remainder of the space. The common wall is indicated by the numeral 14. Access to the first apartment is through the kitchen door t6 and double main entrance doors 18. Access to the second apartment is through double main access doors 29 and a kitchen door 2l. A ledge 22 of subtsantial width extends along the north and south walls outside the exterior or window walls 24 at the level of the apartment floor 26. On these ledges, or more desirably, on the north ledge are situated the condenser units 27 particularly illustrated in FIG. 5.

The condenser units include a motor 28 powering a compressor 3@ and a fan 32. The compressor receives refrigerant through a tube 34, compresses it, circulates it through a radiator 36 over which air is blown by fan 32, Iand stores it in a tank 33. Refrigerant is withdrawn from the tank upon thermostatic demand (not shown) and delivered to the evaporator unit 329, shown in FIG. 6. The thermostat unloads a check valve d@ and starts a blower d2. The refrigerant under reduced pressure circulates through a radiator 44 interposed in the air stream of the blower 42.

Considering first the smaller of the two apartments, a single system is suflcient to accommodate and cool the whole area. lt consists of the condenser unit 27a on the north ledge 2.2 and the evaporator unit 39a in the apartment. Appropriate tubing do, shown diagrammat'ically, is enclosed in the walls or floors of the building to carry the refrigerant tluid between the evaporator and the condenser.

The area associated with the evaporator 3% and its related duct work occupies a wardrobe, closet, hall, and storage complex d8, roughly rectangular in form, and providinga fronting surface on the areas identified as bedroom, den and living room.

Turning to FIG. 4, a false ceiling 5G is constructed in such areas Where the duct work, both delivery and return, may be situated. The false ceiling is spaced below the true ceiling 52 a short distance to leave a shallow space Se. In the area occupied by the evaporator, a deeper, downward, box-like projection S6 is provided to house the evaporator'. The false ceiling 5d will be provided throughout a coniined area communicating with the living areas by lntelled doorways so that the ceiling will terminate at the walls and lintels of the are-a, thus creating an impression, not of a false ceiling, but of a passage,

Y 3 f closet, etc. of reduced headroom. The box-.like projection 56 containing the evaporator will be situated in entrasse.v

a ward-robe or closet to convey the impression, simply, ofl

dead,"boxedeinspaceat the top. Y Thel evaporator preferably vwill use a squirrel :cage

` blower'because of its quietness of operation.v As is Well known, lsuch blowers have axial openings 58I (FiG. 6) for air intake 'and atangential orice 6i) for airdischarge.

` Thefalse'ceiling 50 houses both the air intake and the air dischargeQTIt will be appreciated in FIG. 1 that the y hatched area of the complex 48 is that area having theVY false ceiling and "constitutes the air intake system. The evaporator housing is spaced well away from the blower 42 as'at. 62to provide ready access of the'intake openings 60 into an elbow 66 having vanos 68 therein to direct'the.

air flow smoothly through a right angle.` The fiow continues straight through duct 70 until, as it approaches the end of the duct,a part of the air is diverted by a baie 72 to the left and the rest is diverted by vanes 74 to the right. The vanes direct the air through a register 76 opening Aoff the side of duct 70 out of the space S4 and into the living room, again at ceiling level. The register may be adjustably opened to control the air ilow therethrough. y

The part of the air diverted by the baffle 72 ows through a duct continuation 78 at right anglesto yduct 7?. Part of this air is diverted out through a similar yregister 80 bya baffle 82 into the den. VThe rest continues ahead to another similar discharge register 84 opening into the bedroom. The duct continuation illustrated has a restriction 86 therein to help diversion through register 80. It will be appreciated that any of the three registers may be adjustably closed to control the relative quantity of air delivered to each of the three living areas.

In the area discussed here it will be appreciated that the air return frornthe register 64a will be blocked by the air discharge duct work from the blower unless special provision is made. Such provision is effected by using discharge ducts 70 (FIG. 4) substantially shallower than the air return space 54. The ducts may be mounted against either the true ceiling 52 as shown or against the false ceiling. VA passage across the duct is thus provided between the duct and the opposite ceiling, true or false.

The situation regarding the larger apartment is very similar to that of the smaller except that this being a sixroom rather than a three-room unit, two separate systems may be employed. One of these handles four roomsV and the other two rooms. The system handling four rooms consists of the condenser unit 27b and the evaporator unit 3% with' tubes 90 interconnecting the units for refrigerant ow.

The north side of this apartment is laid out along a hall 92 entered by the access doors 1S. The areas marked den and dining room open directly onto the hall with wide span undoored openings, which however possess a lintel 94. The area marked living room on the south side As before, the evaporatorrunit 39h discharges in part straight ahead through a registerltid in bedroom #2.`

The remainder of the flow is diverted as by vanes and a baffle similar to the parts indicated by 72A and 74 in the previously described system at right angles through the duct work will to extend substantially the length of the hall within the air return space itl/2. Some of the air is diverted als by a baiile out through register 111) yinto the fclen.V Thereafter the duct is partially restricted as at 112 to create a certain amount of back pressurefor air discharge through the register i@ and also to maintain air velocity through the remainder of the system. Furtherair is similarly discharged through a register 114 into the dining room and, after a Afurther constriction E16,

the remaindery of the airis discharged into the lbreakfast v area at ld; The dining room which is in open communication with thenbreakfast area and the kitchen has a return air register 124i. The den and bedroom #2 likewise have return air registers 122.

The other air conditioning urritV associated with this yapartment consistsfof condenser 27C and evaporator 39e of the hall opens in the same fashion and likewise pose sesses a lintel 94. The true ceiling of the hall thus being bounded everywhere either by walls or by'lintels, a false and the interconnecting tubing 124.. Duct work 126 and registers 22S and 13? are provided to direct air into bedroom #l and the living room.

The closet le@ is in open communication with bed- Again, the entrance to the closet will have a lintel Qverheadat 1123. instead of providing the return air register in a wall surface of bedroom #1, a register Vllamay be'provided on the under side of the false ceiling within the closet N2 Vto provide for air circulation through bedroom #1.

I have described in considerable detail here three specific applications oi my invention from which its general utility, application to other room arrangements and design may be readily deduced. In summary, my invention resides in the provision of an air conditioned apartment building kwherein a separate system is provided for each apartment. The system is large enough to permit the use of relatively eiiicient and sturdy components as compared with the conventional window air conditioned which is suitable only for a room. At the same time the structural cost of'a central plant is avoided. The use of the largeV system permits a separation of the evaporator and condenser units to provide optimum heat transfer outside the building and avoid noise, odors, etc. inside. lt resides in the provision for controlled circulation of air within the apartment through the medium of a false ceiling which, in itself, provides an air return system and encloses duct work through which cooled air is discharged. With the use ofthe adjustable registers, ow to any room within the apartment may be closely controlled and different degrees of ,cooling may bel obtained as between different rooms. The location of the false ceiling in hallway or closet areas makes the system substantially invisible. The deeper enclosures required for housing the evaporator unit are easily carnouflaged within built-in cabinets. T he lfalse ceiling may be shallow so as to produce an almost unnoticeable reduction of ceiling height.

-It will thus be understood that my invention is capable @of taking many forms and of being practiced in many :alternative ways. I therefore desire that my invention be regarded as being limited only as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

v1. In an apartment which is one of many in a multiple unit dwelling and which has a plurality of rooms, some of which are non-adjacent, and a corridor adjoining most lof said rooms, an air conditioning system comprising a false ceiling in said corridor situated below the true ceiling thereof over an area 4fronting on more than one of said rooms including non-adjacent rooms, means closing the peripheral edges of said false yceiling Iagainst said true `ceiling to dene a closed chamber against said true ceiling, an evaporator unit in said chamber including a blower having `an air intake and a discharge orifice, said intake being open to said chamber, duct work within said chamber and connected to said orice and extending through said closing means at at least two points to open on at least two of said non-adjacent rooms, means delinng openings through said closing means in said rooms for admitting air into said chamber to permit circulation of air in said rooms individually, a condenser unit outside the wall of said dwelling, and conduits interconnecting said condenser unit and said evaporator unit for conducting refrigerant ;Eluid between said units.

2. The combination as set Iforth in claim 1 including additionally adjustable registers in said duct work opening.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,130,157 9/38 Rugg 98-33 2,259,803 10/41 Cumming 62-419 Morse 62-259 Borgerd 62-419 Hoyer 165-22 Mueller 62-259 Hoyer 62-259 Paton 62-186 Allander 165-22 Croft 98-40 Watenll 62419 `Carini 62-262 ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

15 WILLIAM J. WYE, Examiner. 

1. IN AN APARTMENT WHICH IS ONE OF MANY IN A MULTIPLE UNIT DWELLING AND WHICH HAS A PLURALITY OF ROOMS, SOME OF WHICH ARE NON-ADJACENT, AND A CORRIDOR ADJOINING MOST OF SAID ROOMS, AN AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM COMPRISING A FALSE CEILING IN SAID CORRIDOR SITUATED BELOW THE TRUE CEILING THEREOF OVER AN AREA FRONTING ON MORE THAN ONE OF SAID ROOMS INCLUDING NON-ADJACENT ROOMS, MEANS CLOSING THE PERIPHERAL EDGES OF SAID FALSE CEILING AGAINST SAID TRUE CEILING TO DEFINE A CLOSED CHAMBER AGAINST SAID TRUE CEILING, AN EVAPORATOR UNIT IN SAID CHAMBER INCLUDING A BLOWER HAVING AN AIR INTAKE AND A DISCHARGE ORIFICE, SAID INTAKE BEING OPEN TO SAID CHAMBER, DUCT WORK WITHIN SAID CHAMBER AND CONNECTED TO SAID ORIFICE AND EXTENDING THROUGH SAID CLOSING MEANS AT AT LEAST TWO POINTS TO OPEN ON AT LEAST TWO OF SAID NON-ADJACENT ROOMS, MEANS DEFINING OPENINGS THROUGH SAID CLOSING MEANS IN SAID ROOMS FOR ADMITTING AIR INTO SAID CHAMBER TO PERMIT CIRCULATION 